Witness the Surprising History of Blond Hair

Blond hair has only been around for 11,000 years or so, but in that (evolutionarily) short time it's made quite a mark on human culture. Especially in the West, where the highest concentration of flaxen-haired individuals sprang up. (Fun fact: there are also sizable blond populations in Oceania and the Pacific Islands.)

But since blondes began, the hair color has been interpreted in lots of different ways — from virtuous and pure to downright skanky — and every culture has its own norms when it comes to light hair. It's a fascinating case study in the ways something as simple as hair color can have an enormous amount of cultural import. Check out this history of tow-headedness for fascinating facts and cool insights about what it means to be a Betty instead of a Veronica.